The Voluntary Health Services (VHS) Hospital has tied up with the Monday Charity Club, a home for care of the destitute elderly run by the Vishranthi Charitable Trust, to provide comprehensive medical and rehabilitation services.
Under the alliance between a welfare-oriented hospital with considerable neurological expertise and an NGO, all residents and staff of the Vishranthi Home in Palavakkam would benefit from an annual master health check at VHS in addition to daily on-site nurse-led clinics and weekly physician clinics.
To be implemented by the VHS-CARES (Centre for Advanced Rehabilitation Specialties), the tie-up will bring to the inmates of the home a range of expert services such as physiotherapy, counselling, nutritional advice and pharmacy. The inmates and staff would be provided “Dr. K.S. Sanjivi Medical Aid Plan” smart card sponsored by the TVS Group. The outreach project is also supported by the MAC Educational Foundation engaged in nursing education and The Institute of Neurological Sciences at VHS.
VHS-CARES and Vishranthi expect to gain from this new alliance through opportunities to learn from each other about providing quality, cost-effective geriatric care and rehabilitation services.
E.S. Krishnamoorthy, VHS Honorary Secretary, said this would be the first issue of the smart cards that provide beneficiaries a host of services at a nominal cost.
He stressed the need for extending medical services for the elderly as the level of care required for this segment was very high. There exists a dearth of trained care givers, nursing professionals and doctors.
Pointing to the explosion of the ageing population the world over, Dr. Krishnamoorthy said India too as a country that faced this phenomenon was underprepared to meet the critical gap in care and rehabilitation of the elderly.
Earlier, inaugurating a seminar on “Enhancing Quality of Life for People With Disabilities-A Team Approach,” Krishnamoorthy Srinivas, Emeritus Chairman, The Institute of Neurological Sciences, VHS, said stroke in the elderly was one of the important medical and rehabilitation challenges. The VHS was seeing about 400 stroke cases every year.
Dr. Srinivas also wanted the participants at the seminar to discuss prospects of having courses for Nurse Practitioners. He pointed out that Nurse Practitioners were a key specialised workforce in the U.S. while in the U.K. the speciality was known as Physician Assistant.
In his key-note address, S. Sunder, consultant physiatrist, Global Hospitals, said in-patient rehabilitation, or step-down care, involved a multi-disciplinary approach across medical, social, educational and vocational measures.
